Supercomputers and other large computer systems typically include a large number of computer cabinets arranged in close proximity to one another. FIG. 1, for example, illustrates a portion of a conventional supercomputer system 100 in a room 101. The supercomputer system 100 includes a plurality of computer cabinets 110 arranged in a bank. Each of the computer cabinets 110 includes a plurality of module compartments 118 (identified individually as a first module compartment 118a, a second module compartment 118b, and a third module compartment 118c). Each module compartment 118 holds a plurality of computer modules 112 in close proximity to one another. Each of the computer modules 112 can include a motherboard electrically connecting a plurality of processors, memory modules, routers, and other microelectronic devices for data and/or power transmission.
Many of the electronic devices typically found in supercomputers, such as processors, generate considerable heat during operation. This heat can damage the electronic devices and/or degrade the performance of supercomputers if not dissipated. Consequently, supercomputers typically include both active and passive cooling systems to maintain device temperatures at acceptable levels.
To dissipate heat generated by the computer modules 112, the supercomputer system 100 further includes a plurality of fans 120 mounted to upper portions of corresponding computer cabinets 110. In operation, each of the fans 120 draws cooling air into the corresponding computer cabinet 110 through a front inlet 114 and/or a back inlet 115 positioned toward a bottom portion of the computer cabinet 110. The cooling air flows upward through the computer cabinet 110, past the computer modules 112, and into a central inlet 122 of the fans 120. The fans 120 then exhaust the cooling air outward in a radial pattern through a circumferential outlet 124.
As the power consumption of the electronic devices increases, the computer modules 112 in the module compartments 118 heat the incoming cooling air to higher temperatures. Conventional techniques for dealing with the higher temperatures of the cooling air entering subsequent module compartments 118 include increasing the air flow rate through the individual computer cabinets 110. The higher air flow rate, however, increases the pressure drop over the computer modules 112, and the fans 120 may be unable to compensate for the increased pressure drop. As a result, the cooling air flowing past the computer modules 112 may be insufficient to prevent overheating, which may adversely affect the performance of the computer system 100.